Basket on the bars or on a rack?
 

My wife wants a basket on her 90s Rockhopper so she can carry her voluminous workbag to the train station. She doesn't want to mess with panniers.

She asked me to put a basket on the bars, which I thought might be top-heavy and mess with the steering. She's concerned that putting the weight on one side of the rear wheel would destabilize her, but I think it's better for the C of G.

What does the panel of experts say?

Steve M.

I think that rear baskets can bear more weight than front baskets. you need to be able to control the front because you use it for steering but the rear is stationary.

It depends really if there is not much weight then the basket in front is better. but when flexibility of carrying "heavier" stuff its better to get the rear one.

IF she already has a rack, how about just some bungee cargo netting? It's not quite as easy as throwing something in a basket, but secure, easy and fast.

I've ridden to work quite a few times with a heavily loaded rear pannier on one side with nothing at all on the other side. It does not destabilize you. I never even noticed the difference except when leaning the bike against a wall or fence. A would be leery of carrying a large bag on the front because it will affect the steering. She could get used to the weight on the front but it will be more stable with the bag on the rear. There are baskets that will attach to the top of a rear rack. That paired with a bungee cord or netting would be a better choice.

I've been using the a large Wald basket zip-tied to a front rack on my '88 Hardrock along with a large Rivendell Shopsack as my main commuting tool the last couple weeks. I've found that the system works well for me. The weight isn't all that important as long as I use nice wide handlebars (On One Mary.) Similar set-ups in the past have not worked because with narrower handlebars I didn't have the leverage to control the load easily. When things got out of kilter, bikes got squirrely pretty quick. I never lost control of the bike but having the additional leverage of the wide bars offers greater control.
That said, I wouldn't want to try a basket connected to the bars. Any steering motion with the bars would move the weight and change center of mass of the bike. Additionally the height of the weight, even by 6 or 8 inches can exaggerate any movement. Putting the weight lower is generally better, so I find.
There's a picture of my set-up in the Commuter Bike thread if you're interested.

Plastic Milk crates and Zip Ties are a classic solution, for rear rack mounting.

There are fans of Porteur racks, essentially the base of a big basket, rigidly attached to the fork.

Klick Fix Offers a number of solutions for very nice Baskets for front and rear mounting.
German tidy installations.

Weight on one side WILL NOT destabilize, unless it's a HUGE amount of weight. I sometimes ride with two 8 packs of soda in the Wald folding basket on my bike, so that's 16 pounds hanging pretty far out to one side, and that's just barely starting to feel a bit different, but it doesn't really bother me. It is just noticeable.

You will automatically lean a few degrees to one side to compensate, without even thinking about it or noticing.

If you're using it all the time, perhaps a permanent basket. The Wald Folding basket is nice for occasional use, but it does squeak a bit under heavy load and a non-folding basket probably wouldn't. It is nice to be able to fold it up to fit better in racks and such though.

Fixed it for ya :thumb:.

I don't think women like having their parts referred to in those terms, and a bra would probably work better. However without pics its hard to say what size she should get, but cargo netting seems a bit much ;). Oh wait, you were talking about the bike. Oops, where was my mind at :D.

I would opt for baskets on the rear, as opposed to mounting one on the handlebars.

I think rear is better too - way more stable. Also, I have a folding bike, and a front rack gets in the way of the folding a little bit.

In Copenhagen, where they are all riding all the time, they generally prefer the front basket, even though most of the bikes also have a rear rack. It is just easier to deal with in many ways. Although, many of the bikes do have a little mini front rack to hold the basket, but many don't.

Looks like Copenhagen women in the photo above aren't afraid to fill their front baskets!

The more head tube and and rake the better. I have transitioned to bar bags and love them. I have a older bar bag on my beater Trek. My T700 has a Hunter pass rack with a VO Chapagne bag and I am also building a Porteur. Once under way the weight really is no big deal. The only time it might be a problem is when stopped and off the bike. It makes the bars want to turn but there is a fix. http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...tabilizer.html

Another point is once underway something like 70% of the weight is on the back wheel. Moving some forward actually moves the CG back between the wheels and may actually improve handling.

Give the lady what she wants. She would probably like something like a Topeak basket. I would consider a rack to give it some more suport like the nashbar front rack if she has cantis.

My Porteur build, no current pics of the Trek or T700.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...0&d=1290787291

Edit here is the Trek
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...7&d=1302662672